The Wine Knows

Since first sip, we've been fans of Joie Wines in Naramata, British Columbia. In the next few weeks, patrons of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., will have the opportunity to discover the joy of some of the finest wines to come out of the Okanagan Valley.

According to reports, rosés have surpassed whites in total production in France. Taken at face value, I'd find that difficult to believe, but serious rosés have long been favorites in France.

But could it be possible that rosés are outpacing Chardonnay (Chablis, Burgundy), Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux), Semillon (Bordeaux), Riesling (Alsace) and Viognier (Rhone)?

Rosés are on the rise in sales, according to Wines & Vines, and now is the perfect time to stock on up pink summer wines.

In the past few of years, I have really come to enjoy dry rosés from the Pacific Northwest. A chilled bottle of rosé is absolutely perfect with a weekend lunch or dinner on the deck or patio, and rosés tend to pair very well with fresh summer fare.

This afternoon, we had two couples over for an Easter meal. As the various toddlers screamed through the house, the adults enjoyed a glazed ham, green bean casserole and freshly baked bread.

For me, ham means rosé. I haven't gotten around to drinking up all my '06 rosés, so I rooted around in the cellar and found a Joie Wines 2006 Rosé, a pink blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir.

I came across this blog item from a blog on Washington and Oregon wines called Beyond the Bottle. The author wants to know why wine writers complain about alcohol levels, then do not include them in reviews.

Great question.

As you likely know from posts late last week, Barnard Griffin won gold and best rosé in the masssive San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition last week for its 2007 Rosé of Sangiovese.

We chatted with winemaker/owner Rob Griffin about the award, his approach to rosé and the rising popularity of this dry, food-friendly wine.

When I interviewed winemaker Rob Griffin on Friday about his Sangiovese rosé, which won best rosé Friday in the S.F. Chronicle competition in California, he remarked to me that he believes a pink wine is the best use of Sangiovese in Washington.

He added that a red wine made from Washington Sangiovese is the worst use.

Griffin loves making comments like that, stirring up a bit of controversy here and there. And he makes wines that generally back up his words.

I sit here in stunned awe. Or perhaps I should be used to this by now.

Barnard Griffin's 2007 Rosé of Sangiovese (Columbia Valley, $12) just won best of class for dry rosés and the sweepstakes award for the best pink wine in North America's largest wine competition.

Most wine publications have year-end top 100 lists, etc. We do it a little differently at Wine Press Northwest. We invite Northwest wineries to send their gold medal-winning wines to us, then we bring in top judges from around the country to evaluate them.

Last week, I posed the question on what constitutes a bargain wine. This came after a dearth of wines for the "Best Buys" section of the Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest. Currently, a "Best Buy" is a white for $10 and under and a red for $15 and under. The responses I got back (either in comments on the blog or emails) were adamant: Don't go any higher.